It's safe to assume people wouldn't have a weapon wielded while sleeping, nor walking a known root to the local shop would they carry a heavy steel sword high and ready for combat, I don't believe. Point being it's sensible that they'll have to put it away to do other things.

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May also need to handle 'drink x amount of potions' so that a player doesn't unwield/drink/wield/unwield/drink/wield/.

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Will this be able to handle clonedto items? I'm thinking of a certain unique armour, but it's also used in many searches around the game to move_object() to this player.

To pick something from the floor, it would assume at least the human race needs to bend down, with poor dexterity, this would cause considerable strain to the already carried objects.
-- ProdigY - 14 Jun 2004

This system not being finished is a large reason to why many are still complaining about bags being 'bugged'...

The main idea behind this new system is that you only have two hands to carry things in, the rest you would either have to be wearing or have packed/attached in/on something else...

You will not have to do things like 'get item from bag' or 'put item in bag' over and over again, it shall be handled automatically, or the system would be nothing but annoying...

Example of what new system might look like:
Wielding: a spoon
Holding: a bowl of milk and cereal
Wearing: a shiny platemail, a pink baby-cap, a backpack and a leather belt
On leather belt: a purse and a keyring
In backpack: pocketlint, a lantern and some porcelain
In purse: a small pile of shiny trinkets and a few batteries

Ask if there are things you dont understand, the example might not clear all things up...

The system should allow for automatic packing of items that cant be in your hands...the idea right now is just for the display of inventory, no other noticeable changes...

Any item you pick up goes into your "holding" list, ie, in yours hands.

The amount of items you can hold should be based on item size. You can carry MANY small items, but only a few large items. For example fifty small feathers ... or one large extension ladder.

You should be able to attempt to hold as many items as you want. Your dexterity should set the limit combined with the bulk of the items. If you hold more than your limit then you have a chance of dropping items (perhaps starting with the smallest?). Call this state in which you are trying not to drop things "juggling"

It's reasonable to consider someone holding 4 things, awkwardly getting a fifth from a bag, and attempting to use it (possibly dropping it or something a moment later).

Doing other actions would make you more likely to drop things, essentially by decreasing the amount you can hold without juggling.

Dexterity determines the number of items you can hold without starting to juggle.

What bags/etc are good for - they don't make anything lighter, they just make it easier to carry many things. Consider carrying 50 marbles - easy enough if you have a bag, but rather hard when you have only your hands and are carrying a sword as well.

A backpack mean you are able to carry more weight than normal...redistribustion of weight makes a lighter load, tying into the "Stamina" idea - meaning that if you carry your max for an excess of time, you will get tired.

Certain containers could only hold certain types of items... sheath only being able to hold swords of the right size for example.

Weapons should be put in their proper location, whether this is a sheath, a ring in your belt, or a sling in your back should be your own option, and perhaps it is its own item.

You want to quaff a potion.
Sheath sword, take potion from belt/backpack/pocket/whatever, drink potion, wield sword..
Now we get around to why I originally said that this should be automatically handled, or I dont want such a system at all, right now drinking a potion takes one (1) command, that system makes it five. I would like it to stay at one command. So...
drink potion
(we have no free hands to hold the potion, so we sheath our weapon)
You sheath your weapon.
You get the potion from your backpack.
You drink the potion.
(now that we try to rewield the weapon, it detects we have no free hands and puts the jar back in our backpack)
You put the empty flask in your backpack.
You wield your weapon.

Having things handled on automatic like this should be optionable, if you want it to be handled exactly by you, it shouldnt interfer with that...its quite spammy however, perhaps can have opt-out on the auto-messages as well...

Also, this could all take some time to do...so you dont drink 50 potions at once...so that you dont want to do it in combat, cause your opponent are gonna get some free hits on you while you are focusing on something else...

Taking something from a backpack should be far from instant. A belt is easy to quick access, but a backpack is something you have to take off your back, open, view contents, and pick out which items you want seperately.

We can have a "locate" command which lists all the "red potions" in your inventory.
Eg:
locate red potion
--
1: red potion - held
2: large red potion - in backpack
3: sparkling red potion - on belt.
--
You can then "drink red potion 3", or "drink large red potion" or "drink red potion from backpack". All with the same effect.